94 
MANUAL OF NATURE STUDY. 
ard? hyena? Are these animals in any way de¬ 
pendent upon plants ? How ? 
How does the hedge-hog live ? How the mole ? 
the shrew? ground hog? whippoorwill? bats? 
These live upon insects. Are they then depend¬ 
ent upon plant life? How? Suppose all vegeta¬ 
tion to be destroyed. Describe the scene that 
would follow in the animal kingdom. 
We have already learned that the animal life 
must have oxygen to breathe, in order to relieve 
the waste and purify the blood. We also learned 
that plant life, under the influence of the sun, is 
continually supplying that oxygen. Plant life 
demands for its food carbon dioxode; the animal 
life furnishes this food to the plant. Thus there is 
a constant interchange of food between the two 
kingdoms of nature. All the elements necessary 
for animals’ food is in the soil; then why could not 
animals and man live without plants ? 
Let us illustrate. All the material of our cloth¬ 
ing is on the sheep’s back or cotton field; then why 
do we not go to the sheep’s back or cotton field 
when we need a suit of clothes ? 
All the material of our chairs and school furni¬ 
ture, except castings, is found in a sugar, beech, or 
walnut tree; then why not go to these trees and 
load our wagons with some choice furniture to 
